I'm holly stavness
I’m an artist, calligrapher and wedding stationer who adores the written word and believes that slowing down can change everything.
I’m here to show you how to love the life you’ve been given and teach you how to care for your soul through your own creativity (whether or not you think you are creative because … spoiler alert … you are!).
My favorite moments are at night when the house is quiet. No one needs my attention, and I sit down at my kitchen table, pull out paints and ink, and pour out all the emotions of the day onto paper.
I wasn’t always an artist. I was a rough and tumble tomboy athlete growing up.
BUT ONCE I BECAME A MOTHER •••
I found myself exhausted and completely drained. I decided in 2014 that I would learn calligraphy and made it my new years’ resolution.
I spent hundreds of dollars on tools and paper and ink until I found what worked for my hand. My husband would come home from work and I’d run out the door to a local coffee shop with my tool kit and would sit for hours writing one letter at a time. That same year we became foster parents and had three kids under the age of three.
That year brought waves of emotion I had never dealt with before, and the art of calligraphy was where I found myself night after night pouring out my fears, anxieties, and hurts.
I WOULD WRITE SCRIPTURE AND TRUTH OVER AND OVER.
All of the what if’s and self doubt would silence and cease as I dipped my ink in the jar and scratch out life giving words. My soul would soar in those moments at my kitchen table as my tired body would sit and write for hours.
SALVATION WOULD HAPPEN AT MY KITCHEN TABLE, JUST AS IT HAD HAPPENED THERE ALL MY LIFE.
That kitchen table became my sanctuary and a well that would overflow my cup that had been poured out from the day. And over those ten months of that baby boy living with us, something beautiful happened.
PAIN AND STRUGGLE BEGET BEAUTIFUL LIVES.
There was a tenderness that was born in me that I had never possessed. A desire to slow down and be present was formed. It provoked something in me to see the beauty in the small parts of life and the mundane tasks that must be done. In a world that wants to be big and bold I saw the beauty of being a servant and posturing myself low. And I believe with all of my heart, if all I do for the rest of my life is be faithful in the small details I’ve been given, that it would be an excellent life.
IS YOUR SOUL ACHING TO LOVE THE LIFE YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN?
ARE YOU WEARY AND NEEDING SOME SOUL CARE?
LOCAL WORKSHOPS
IN MODESTO, CALIFORNIA
I would love to welcome you to my creative studio in Modesto, California where I host various classes of my own as well as invite other local artists to teach their craft. These workshops are designed to help make room in your life for a little bit of art.
I strongly believe you were created to create and our workshops foster unique creativity that breathes life into your every day life. I hope to welcome you to the studio soon!
WE OFFER CLASSES THAT INCLUDE:
Beginner Watercolor
Beginner Calligraphy
Intermediate Calligraphy
Chalk Lettering
Cookie Decorating
Wreath Making
Christmas Card Addressing
Special Holiday Workshops
